Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Even Amidst Outcry Against Costs, Pharmaceutical Companies Are Still Hiking Prices

News outlets from across the country report on the pharmaceutical drug industry.

The New York Times:
Drug Prices Keep Rising Despite Intense Criticism
From the campaign trail to the halls of Congress, drug makers have spent much of the last year enduring withering criticism over the rising cost of drugs. It doesn’t seem to be working. In April alone, Johnson & Johnson raised its prices on several top-selling products, including the leukemia drug Imbruvica, the diabetes treatment Invokana, and Xarelto, an anti-clotting drug, according to a research note published last week by an analyst for Leerink, an investment bank. Other major companies that have raised prices this year include Amgen, Gilead and Celgene, the analyst reported. (Thomas, 4/26)

STAT:
More Drug Makers Are Taking Hefty Price Hikes On More Drugs
If you thought drug makers might hunker down in the face of public outrage over pricing, think again. Given the clamor over the cost of prescription drugs, most manufacturers were expected to avoid drawing attention to themselves by boosting price tags. But several companies have been hiking prices for their medicines at a rate that one Wall Street analyst found surprising. “The price increases for established brands [sold by drug makers that he follows] have been substantial, indeed,” wrote Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges in an investor note. He tracked price hikes on various drugs that are sold by several companies since the beginning of 2015. (Silverman, 4/22)

The New York Times:
The Complex Math Behind Spiraling Prescription Drug Prices
The soaring cost of prescription drugs has generated outrage among politicians and patients. Some cancer drugs carry price tags of more than $100,000 a year, and health plans are increasingly asking people to shoulder a greater share of the cost. In surveys, Americans regularly cite drug prices as a top health care concern, which may be why presidential candidates keep bringing them up. Congress has jumped into the debate, holding a series of hearings on the issue. But there are no simple answers. (Thomas, 4/27)

FiercePharma:
States' Efforts To Fight Skyrocketing Costs Pose 'Modest Risk To Pharma': Report
States across the country have been battling it out with Big Pharma over drug pricing, with some introducing bills that take aim at skyrocketing costs. People on both sides of the issue are wondering whether the states’ efforts will pay off, and now, some analysts have an answer: “probably not.” “It seems the current wave of state legislations brought up to address the increase in drug costs is a very modest risk to pharma, if at all,” Bernstein analysts said in a report. The proposed legislation coming from the states seems “to be more rhetoric than imminent pricing concern,” the analysts said. (Wasserman, 4/22)

The Fiscal Times:
New Plan To Cut Prescription Drug Costs Meets Stiff Opposition From Industry
Calls for containing soaring prescription drug costs are all the rage on the campaign trail, and lawmakers from both parties have been conducting hard-hitting hearings on Capitol Hill to expose the worst pricing practices of major pharmaceutical companies. But with a powerful, well-financed drug industry strongly opposed to major reforms, the prospects for any significant change in the way drug companies do business is relatively slight, at least for the foreseeable future. (Pianin, 4/25)

The Wall Street Journal:
Eli Lilly Revenue Boosted By New Drug Sales
Eli Lilly & Co. said revenue rose nearly 5% in its latest quarter as sales of new drugs helped offset declines in some established products, while profit dropped 17% due to higher expenses for research and development and a currency devaluation in Venezuela. The earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations, sending Lilly’s shares down 1.9% to $76.45 in late-morning trading Tuesday. (Loftus and Hufford, 4/26)

FiercePharma:
Teva, Allergan Generics Deal On Track To Close In June: Analyst
Relax, Teva and Allergan investors. The companies are on track to close their whopper knockoffs deal in the first half of June or so, one analyst says. According to Bernstein’s Ronny Gal, Teva has now sold off all the already-marketed products it needed to jettison in order to close its $40.5 billion buy of Allergan’s generics unit. It’s started casting off pipeline assets, too, and once it’s officially selected buyers for all of its candidates, it’ll submit a data package to the FTC and the body will vote on approving the transaction. Timeline: three to four weeks, Gal figures. (Helfand, 4/25)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.